Morocco has signed an agreement with the international ORNX consortium to develop a green synthetic ammonia project in Laayoune worth $4.5 billion (approximately 320 billion yuan)

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Morocco has signed an agreement with the international ORNX consortium to develop a green synthetic ammonia project in Laayoune worth 4.5 billion dollars (approximately 320 billion yuan). The project will be built as a fully integrated platform powered by renewable energy. The plan includes over 2 GW of wind and solar capacity, battery storage systems, approximately 900 MW of electrolyzers for the production of green hydrogen, as well as desalination facilities to provide process water. 　　In the first phase, the facility is expected to produce around 100,000 tons of green hydrogen per year, which will be converted into approximately 560,000 tons of synthetic ammonia for domestic use and export markets. 　　The ORNX consortium is composed of Ortus from the United States, Acciona from Spain, and Nordex from Germany. The partners stated that the project aims to establish a long-term industrial foundation for using synthetic ammonia as a hydrogen carrier in international trade. 　　Further development is also planned in Bujdour and Dakhla, locations that have been chosen due to their abundant wind and solar energy resources, access to Atlantic shipping routes, and land conditions suitable for large-scale renewable energy development. 　　This investment is part of Morocco’s **hydrogen energy framework, known as the \"Morocco Plan\"; each project can be allocated up to 30,000 hectares of land, with plans to mobilize up to 1 million hectares for the development of green hydrogen. 　　In March this year, Rabat selected 5 investor groups in the southern region to carry out 6 projects, among which ORNX focuses on synthetic ammonia production. 　　Moroccan officials said that this measure will support industrial growth, an increase in export revenues, and the development of domestic value chains for low-carbon fuels. 　　Morocco has set ambitious goals for its transition to clean energy, which provide support for projects such as ORNX. Under its **Green Hydrogen Strategy**, Rabat plans to build around 6 GW of dedicated renewable energy capacity by 2030, to serve both a local hydrogen market of about 4 terawatt-hours and an export market of around 10 terawatt-hours per year, with the goal of capturing more than 4% of the global hydrogen demand. 　　To support these goals, the government has approved hydrogen and related projects worth approximately $32.5 billion, providing up to 30,000 hectares of land for each project to attract foreign investment. Morocco also plans to raise the share of renewable energy in its electricity mix to 52% by 2030, with solar, wind, and hydroelectric power together providing most of its electricity.